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Chapter Nine
Once again, the Fellowship was stopping, but this time it was the final time, meaning on the river. They had reached the falls and they had to reach Mordor by foot.
Legolas ran his canoe onto ground and got out, helping Merian and Gimli get out of the boat once again. It was a beautiful spot, full of trees. But Legolas felt uneasy about the place. There was something out there, following them like a cat and a mouse. They had to leave soon before whatever it was out there came to get them.
As everybody set up their things in camp, Aragorn came up from the boats. Legolas watched him quietly. The human had a deep-set expression on his face, one that was filled with worry and concern.
"We cross the lake at nightfall, hide the boats, and continue on foot. We approach Mordor from the north," Aragorn said to everybody.
Legolas silently sighed. That meant crossing Emyn Muil...and then to Mordor itself. They were so close and Legolas never felt a sense of dread in his life and that was including his time fighting off evil creatures in Mirkwood. Legolas didn't want to go to Mordor, but if that's the way the Ringbearer was going, then that's the way the Elf was going.
"Oh yes?" Gimli asked. "Just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil? An impassable labyrinth of razor sharp rocks. And after that, it gets even better! Festering, stinking marshlands as far as the eye can see—"
"That is our road," Aragorn interrupted. "I suggest you take a rest and recover your strength, Master Dwarf."
Legolas hid a small smile and quickly busied himself with their possessions. The Dwarf was always complaining about something and whenever someone suggested that he should rest or leave the Fellowship, he blustered and said he didn't need rest or needed to leave the Fellowship just yet.
"Recover my strength!" Gimli growled and muttered.
Suddenly Legolas felt something dark and evil coming closer. It was pulsing through him, warning him that they should leave. This foe was too big in numbers for them all to take on. Even though hobbits couldn't overtake them. Legolas dropped the spare cloak he was holding and headed straight for Aragorn.
"We should leave now," Legolas said in a low voice.
Aragorn shook his head. "No. Orcs patrol the eastern shore. We must wait for the cover of darkness."
Legolas gritted his teeth. Why was Aragorn being so difficult right now when they needed to leave right now before they all got killed?
"It's not the eastern shore that worries me," Legolas said. "A shadow and a threat have been growing in my mind. Something draws near, I can feel it."
Aragorn didn't say anything, but looked across to the eastern shore thoughtfully. Legolas looked at the human smugly. Listen to the Elf for once; sometimes they can give you good advice.
"Recover my strength! Pay no heed to that, young hobbit," Gimli was saying to Pippin.
Legolas walked back up to where he had dumped his things and started straightening them out. He was still uneasy, but he couldn't leave them just yet just because he had a bad feeling. Merian walked up behind him and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"What's the matter?" Merian asked.
"What do you think? We have to leave now. Something's drawing near," Legolas said.
"Where's Frodo?" Merry suddenly asked everybody.
Legolas quickly looked up and looked around. Frodo wasn't anywhere to be seen. The Elf cursed. Frodo can't be going off on by himself right now. There was something drawing near and they could easily take him and take the hobbit to Sauron. Or Saruman.
"Legolas!" Aragorn called and hurried towards him.
"What is it, Aragorn?" Legolas asked.
"You wait here with the others while I go off and look for Frodo. Boromir's gone too," Aragorn stated.
"I can help you, Aragorn. Let me come with you," Legolas said.
"No," Aragorn said firmly, "you stay here and watch out for everybody else, especially Merian. She'll be the vulnerable not counting the hobbits. At least they know how to use their swords somewhat."
With that, Aragorn left. Legolas watched him disappear into the trees. He had a bad feeling about all of this, but he couldn't let Aragorn down. They were friends and friends watched out for each other, no matter who it was.
Merian hurried back over to Legolas. He sighed, he didn't want to explain anything to the woman at the moment, no matter how much he cared about her.
"Legolas, what's happening?" Merian asked.
"Frodo walked off by himself and Aragorn needs to go and find him," Legolas answered.
"Boromir went off, too," Merian said bluntly.
"Yeah, I knew that...I just didn't want to tell you all the details," Legolas exclaimed.
Merian laughed. "You really don't trust me, do you, Legolas? You men are so blunt and stupid sometimes."
Legolas felt his body stiffen. He didn't like being called stupid. He felt himself quite intelligent for being on Middle Earth for 2,900 some odd years. Legolas lost count sometimes. But this wasn't the time to be thinking about that right now.
"What are you thinking?" Merian said.
Legolas shook his head in response. "Nothing."
Merian just nodded and then started walking slowly towards where Aragorn had disappeared. Legolas watched her in horror. What the heck was she doing? Surely she wasn't going to follow after the human, was she?
"Merian, where are you going? You can't go into there! Aragorn can take care of himself," Legolas called out.
Suddenly some shrieking rang out through the trees. They were Orcs and Uruk Hai. Legolas cursed. He should've known that Orcs and Uruk Hai were the ones who Legolas felt coming closer and coming after them.
"Everybody, get your weapons! Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Merian, you four stay here, out of harm's way. We don't need you four to be hurt," Legolas shouted. "Gimli, you come with me!"
"But I can fight!" Merian shouted after Legolas, but the Elf didn't listen.
He and Gimli ran through the woods, Legolas leading the way towards the creatures. After all, he had the better hearing and sight of the two.
The searching didn't last long. Soon they were going headlong into the whole group of them. Instantly and instinctively Legolas started shooting his arrows and using his small knives.
Legolas didn't know how long he was fighting; he just kept it up. One after another, the Uruk Hai fell under Legolas shots. Soon he came upon Aragorn, who was also fighting the Uruks. The two of them fought side-by-side, moving effortlessly in motion. They knew each other too well.
Aragorn soon got caught between a tree and an Uruk Hai. Legolas glanced their way and as soon as he was free, he whirled around and shot an arrow in the Uruk's back and the Uruk fell to the ground, dead. Aragorn smiled his thanks and Legolas gave a quick nod.
Just then, a horn sounded out through the trees. Legolas recognized that horn.
"The Horn of Gondor," Legolas said.
"Boromir," Aragorn exclaimed and rushed past Legolas.
Legolas stared after the human.
"I knew that much!" Legolas called after him and was soon following after him.
"Wait for me! Don't leave me behind!" Gimli panted after them, trotting steadily behind them.
"Come on, Gimli, you can do it," Legolas called over his shoulder, but he didn't have any time to say anything else, for he was back into the fighting.
What seemed like hours later, the Uruks had either been killed, or fled. Legolas stood still in one place, slowly catching his breath. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gimli walking slowly towards him. Gimli finally reached the Elf and stood there with his hands on his hips drawing deep breaths and letting it out noisily.
"You know what," Legolas told the Dwarf, "I think Haldir WAS right about you. You breathe so loud anyone could shoot you in the dark."
Gimli glared at Legolas for a few minutes and laughed heartily. "Some humor you've got there, Master Elf. I didn't know you had it in you."
"I can surprise myself sometimes with it," Legolas said with a small smile on his face. "Well, we best go and find Aragorn."
Gimli nodded in agreement and the two of them picked their way through the hordes of Uruk Hai and Orcs. Legolas wrinkled his nose slightly. The creatures stunk like he wouldn't believe. No wonder they liked killing each other off because they couldn't stand the smell of each other.
Elf and Dwarf suddenly came upon Aragorn. He was kneeling in front of a body. As he listened, Legolas could distinctly hear sobbing.
Slowly he stood up and looked out into the distance.
"They will look for his coming from the White Tower. But he will not return," Aragorn said.
When Aragorn turned around, Legolas caught tears glistening in his eyes and down his cheeks. Legolas silently walked over to Aragorn and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"He didn't die in vain, Aragorn," Legolas said softly.
Aragorn nodded silently and the two of them embraced. A few moments later, Gimli appeared beside them.
"Are we going to stand here forever or are we going to do something about Boromir's body?" Gimli asked.
The two friends pulled apart and looked down at the Dwarf, smiling slightly. Legolas didn't know what they could do without the Dwarf. He lightened the mood when everything was dark and bleak.
When they finally reached the shore with Boromir, Legolas noticed that there weren't any hobbits or Merian.
"Aragorn, where's everybody?" Legolas asked.
"Not right now, Legolas," was the reply.
They placed Boromir in one of the boats and pushed it gently away from the bank. The three of them watched the boat drift by silently, and soon the boat disappeared over the falls. Aragorn silently walked up the bank a little ways. Legolas looked across the lake when he caught the spare boat that was missing across the lake and some rustling in the bushes.
"Hurry! Frodo and Sam have reached the eastern shore!" Legolas called over his shoulder and ran towards the last boat and began to push it in the river.
When he didn't hear anybody following after him, Legolas turned around to look at Aragorn curiously. He had one foot up on a tree stump, looking at his hands quietly.
"You mean not to follow them?" Legolas asked. He didn't know why Aragorn was acting like this.
Aragorn looks up and looked deeply into Legolas' eyes. The Elf couldn't bring himself to look away. It seemed like the human was telling him something in those eyes. A story of other things that Legolas didn't know what.
"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands," Aragorn said softly.
Legolas sighed and walked up towards Aragorn. Out of the corner of his eye, Legolas saw Gimli walking towards Aragorn, also.
"Then it has all been in vain," Gimli said, "the Fellowship has failed."
Aragorn gave a faint smile and walked over to the Elf and the Dwarf. He placed a hand on the shoulder of the two beings in front of him.
"Not if we hold true to each other," Aragorn said to Gimli. The Dwarf put his hand firmly on Aragorn's arm.
Aragorn looked at Legolas. "We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death. Not while we have strength left. Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light. Let's hunt some Orc!"
Gimli looked up at the Elf and the two of them stared at each other for a long time. A smile began to grow on the Dwarf's face.
"Yes!" he cried and began following after Aragorn who had disappeared into the woods.
Legolas smiled. But something was wrong. They hadn't found Merian. Where was she? He silently ran after Aragorn. He quickly caught up with the human and grabbed his shoulder.
"Aragorn, where's Merian? We didn't go out and look for her," Legolas said. "What if she's out there hurt and in pain?"
A shadow crossed Aragorn's face. "This is bad. We need to look here before we go off chasing after Merry and Pippin."
Gimli finally caught up with the Elf and human. Once again he was panting and out of breath.
"Why're we stopping?" he asked.
"We forgot about Merian," Aragorn informed the Dwarf.
"Oh, that's ruddy brilliant. Talk about taking care of people under your charge, Aragorn," Gimli said.
"I'll go look for her," Legolas said and soon he was off into the woods, looking everywhere.
Where was she? There were only so many places an Elf could be. Legolas cursed himself. He should've watched out for Merian better. He had silently promised himself he'd look out for her and protect her if there was any trouble. So reckless he was to go off and leave the determined she Elf alone. She was bound to go off and fight once Legolas was gone.
Uruk Hai after Uruk Hai passed him by, but Legolas couldn't find Merian. The Uruk Hai that he and the others failed to kill couldn't have captured her? Or worse, killed...Legolas shook himself from that prospect. He couldn't let himself think about that. She was going to be all right, he was going to find her alive.
Just then, Legolas caught a glimpse of a pale face and body just ahead. There couldn't be any doubt that it was Merian.
"Merian!" Legolas called out as he ran towards her. It didn't seem like she was moving. "Merian, wake up!"
Legolas reached the fallen Elf and dropped beside Merian. He placed a hand on her scratched and bruised face. She couldn't be dead, could she? She just couldn't be.
Author's Note: Here's chapter nine for you all. It's a bit long, but I couldn't help it. I was so into writing in that I didn't notice how much I was writing. I hope you all are enjoying the story. I'll keep writing and working on this story because I'm beginning to love the story and want to writ more. Happy reading and I know you all love reading, so click that little button in the bottom left hand corner and review! I'd really appreciate it! Thanks much!
Chapter Nine
Once again, the Fellowship was stopping, but this time it was the final time, meaning on the river. They had reached the falls and they had to reach Mordor by foot.
Legolas ran his canoe onto ground and got out, helping Merian and Gimli get out of the boat once again. It was a beautiful spot, full of trees. But Legolas felt uneasy about the place. There was something out there, following them like a cat and a mouse. They had to leave soon before whatever it was out there came to get them.
As everybody set up their things in camp, Aragorn came up from the boats. Legolas watched him quietly. The human had a deep-set expression on his face, one that was filled with worry and concern.
"We cross the lake at nightfall, hide the boats, and continue on foot. We approach Mordor from the north," Aragorn said to everybody.
Legolas silently sighed. That meant crossing Emyn Muil...and then to Mordor itself. They were so close and Legolas never felt a sense of dread in his life and that was including his time fighting off evil creatures in Mirkwood. Legolas didn't want to go to Mordor, but if that's the way the Ringbearer was going, then that's the way the Elf was going.
"Oh yes?" Gimli asked. "Just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil? An impassable labyrinth of razor sharp rocks. And after that, it gets even better! Festering, stinking marshlands as far as the eye can see—"
"That is our road," Aragorn interrupted. "I suggest you take a rest and recover your strength, Master Dwarf."
Legolas hid a small smile and quickly busied himself with their possessions. The Dwarf was always complaining about something and whenever someone suggested that he should rest or leave the Fellowship, he blustered and said he didn't need rest or needed to leave the Fellowship just yet.
"Recover my strength!" Gimli growled and muttered.
Suddenly Legolas felt something dark and evil coming closer. It was pulsing through him, warning him that they should leave. This foe was too big in numbers for them all to take on. Even though hobbits couldn't overtake them. Legolas dropped the spare cloak he was holding and headed straight for Aragorn.
"We should leave now," Legolas said in a low voice.
Aragorn shook his head. "No. Orcs patrol the eastern shore. We must wait for the cover of darkness."
Legolas gritted his teeth. Why was Aragorn being so difficult right now when they needed to leave right now before they all got killed?
"It's not the eastern shore that worries me," Legolas said. "A shadow and a threat have been growing in my mind. Something draws near, I can feel it."
Aragorn didn't say anything, but looked across to the eastern shore thoughtfully. Legolas looked at the human smugly. Listen to the Elf for once; sometimes they can give you good advice.
"Recover my strength! Pay no heed to that, young hobbit," Gimli was saying to Pippin.
Legolas walked back up to where he had dumped his things and started straightening them out. He was still uneasy, but he couldn't leave them just yet just because he had a bad feeling. Merian walked up behind him and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"What's the matter?" Merian asked.
"What do you think? We have to leave now. Something's drawing near," Legolas said.
"Where's Frodo?" Merry suddenly asked everybody.
Legolas quickly looked up and looked around. Frodo wasn't anywhere to be seen. The Elf cursed. Frodo can't be going off on by himself right now. There was something drawing near and they could easily take him and take the hobbit to Sauron. Or Saruman.
"Legolas!" Aragorn called and hurried towards him.
"What is it, Aragorn?" Legolas asked.
"You wait here with the others while I go off and look for Frodo. Boromir's gone too," Aragorn stated.
"I can help you, Aragorn. Let me come with you," Legolas said.
"No," Aragorn said firmly, "you stay here and watch out for everybody else, especially Merian. She'll be the vulnerable not counting the hobbits. At least they know how to use their swords somewhat."
With that, Aragorn left. Legolas watched him disappear into the trees. He had a bad feeling about all of this, but he couldn't let Aragorn down. They were friends and friends watched out for each other, no matter who it was.
Merian hurried back over to Legolas. He sighed, he didn't want to explain anything to the woman at the moment, no matter how much he cared about her.
"Legolas, what's happening?" Merian asked.
"Frodo walked off by himself and Aragorn needs to go and find him," Legolas answered.
"Boromir went off, too," Merian said bluntly.
"Yeah, I knew that...I just didn't want to tell you all the details," Legolas exclaimed.
Merian laughed. "You really don't trust me, do you, Legolas? You men are so blunt and stupid sometimes."
Legolas felt his body stiffen. He didn't like being called stupid. He felt himself quite intelligent for being on Middle Earth for 2,900 some odd years. Legolas lost count sometimes. But this wasn't the time to be thinking about that right now.
"What are you thinking?" Merian said.
Legolas shook his head in response. "Nothing."
Merian just nodded and then started walking slowly towards where Aragorn had disappeared. Legolas watched her in horror. What the heck was she doing? Surely she wasn't going to follow after the human, was she?
"Merian, where are you going? You can't go into there! Aragorn can take care of himself," Legolas called out.
Suddenly some shrieking rang out through the trees. They were Orcs and Uruk Hai. Legolas cursed. He should've known that Orcs and Uruk Hai were the ones who Legolas felt coming closer and coming after them.
"Everybody, get your weapons! Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Merian, you four stay here, out of harm's way. We don't need you four to be hurt," Legolas shouted. "Gimli, you come with me!"
"But I can fight!" Merian shouted after Legolas, but the Elf didn't listen.
He and Gimli ran through the woods, Legolas leading the way towards the creatures. After all, he had the better hearing and sight of the two.
The searching didn't last long. Soon they were going headlong into the whole group of them. Instantly and instinctively Legolas started shooting his arrows and using his small knives.
Legolas didn't know how long he was fighting; he just kept it up. One after another, the Uruk Hai fell under Legolas shots. Soon he came upon Aragorn, who was also fighting the Uruks. The two of them fought side-by-side, moving effortlessly in motion. They knew each other too well.
Aragorn soon got caught between a tree and an Uruk Hai. Legolas glanced their way and as soon as he was free, he whirled around and shot an arrow in the Uruk's back and the Uruk fell to the ground, dead. Aragorn smiled his thanks and Legolas gave a quick nod.
Just then, a horn sounded out through the trees. Legolas recognized that horn.
"The Horn of Gondor," Legolas said.
"Boromir," Aragorn exclaimed and rushed past Legolas.
Legolas stared after the human.
"I knew that much!" Legolas called after him and was soon following after him.
"Wait for me! Don't leave me behind!" Gimli panted after them, trotting steadily behind them.
"Come on, Gimli, you can do it," Legolas called over his shoulder, but he didn't have any time to say anything else, for he was back into the fighting.
What seemed like hours later, the Uruks had either been killed, or fled. Legolas stood still in one place, slowly catching his breath. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gimli walking slowly towards him. Gimli finally reached the Elf and stood there with his hands on his hips drawing deep breaths and letting it out noisily.
"You know what," Legolas told the Dwarf, "I think Haldir WAS right about you. You breathe so loud anyone could shoot you in the dark."
Gimli glared at Legolas for a few minutes and laughed heartily. "Some humor you've got there, Master Elf. I didn't know you had it in you."
"I can surprise myself sometimes with it," Legolas said with a small smile on his face. "Well, we best go and find Aragorn."
Gimli nodded in agreement and the two of them picked their way through the hordes of Uruk Hai and Orcs. Legolas wrinkled his nose slightly. The creatures stunk like he wouldn't believe. No wonder they liked killing each other off because they couldn't stand the smell of each other.
Elf and Dwarf suddenly came upon Aragorn. He was kneeling in front of a body. As he listened, Legolas could distinctly hear sobbing.
Slowly he stood up and looked out into the distance.
"They will look for his coming from the White Tower. But he will not return," Aragorn said.
When Aragorn turned around, Legolas caught tears glistening in his eyes and down his cheeks. Legolas silently walked over to Aragorn and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"He didn't die in vain, Aragorn," Legolas said softly.
Aragorn nodded silently and the two of them embraced. A few moments later, Gimli appeared beside them.
"Are we going to stand here forever or are we going to do something about Boromir's body?" Gimli asked.
The two friends pulled apart and looked down at the Dwarf, smiling slightly. Legolas didn't know what they could do without the Dwarf. He lightened the mood when everything was dark and bleak.
When they finally reached the shore with Boromir, Legolas noticed that there weren't any hobbits or Merian.
"Aragorn, where's everybody?" Legolas asked.
"Not right now, Legolas," was the reply.
They placed Boromir in one of the boats and pushed it gently away from the bank. The three of them watched the boat drift by silently, and soon the boat disappeared over the falls. Aragorn silently walked up the bank a little ways. Legolas looked across the lake when he caught the spare boat that was missing across the lake and some rustling in the bushes.
"Hurry! Frodo and Sam have reached the eastern shore!" Legolas called over his shoulder and ran towards the last boat and began to push it in the river.
When he didn't hear anybody following after him, Legolas turned around to look at Aragorn curiously. He had one foot up on a tree stump, looking at his hands quietly.
"You mean not to follow them?" Legolas asked. He didn't know why Aragorn was acting like this.
Aragorn looks up and looked deeply into Legolas' eyes. The Elf couldn't bring himself to look away. It seemed like the human was telling him something in those eyes. A story of other things that Legolas didn't know what.
"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands," Aragorn said softly.
Legolas sighed and walked up towards Aragorn. Out of the corner of his eye, Legolas saw Gimli walking towards Aragorn, also.
"Then it has all been in vain," Gimli said, "the Fellowship has failed."
Aragorn gave a faint smile and walked over to the Elf and the Dwarf. He placed a hand on the shoulder of the two beings in front of him.
"Not if we hold true to each other," Aragorn said to Gimli. The Dwarf put his hand firmly on Aragorn's arm.
Aragorn looked at Legolas. "We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death. Not while we have strength left. Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light. Let's hunt some Orc!"
Gimli looked up at the Elf and the two of them stared at each other for a long time. A smile began to grow on the Dwarf's face.
"Yes!" he cried and began following after Aragorn who had disappeared into the woods.
Legolas smiled. But something was wrong. They hadn't found Merian. Where was she? He silently ran after Aragorn. He quickly caught up with the human and grabbed his shoulder.
"Aragorn, where's Merian? We didn't go out and look for her," Legolas said. "What if she's out there hurt and in pain?"
A shadow crossed Aragorn's face. "This is bad. We need to look here before we go off chasing after Merry and Pippin."
Gimli finally caught up with the Elf and human. Once again he was panting and out of breath.
"Why're we stopping?" he asked.
"We forgot about Merian," Aragorn informed the Dwarf.
"Oh, that's ruddy brilliant. Talk about taking care of people under your charge, Aragorn," Gimli said.
"I'll go look for her," Legolas said and soon he was off into the woods, looking everywhere.
Where was she? There were only so many places an Elf could be. Legolas cursed himself. He should've watched out for Merian better. He had silently promised himself he'd look out for her and protect her if there was any trouble. So reckless he was to go off and leave the determined she Elf alone. She was bound to go off and fight once Legolas was gone.
Uruk Hai after Uruk Hai passed him by, but Legolas couldn't find Merian. The Uruk Hai that he and the others failed to kill couldn't have captured her? Or worse, killed...Legolas shook himself from that prospect. He couldn't let himself think about that. She was going to be all right, he was going to find her alive.
Just then, Legolas caught a glimpse of a pale face and body just ahead. There couldn't be any doubt that it was Merian.
"Merian!" Legolas called out as he ran towards her. It didn't seem like she was moving. "Merian, wake up!"
Legolas reached the fallen Elf and dropped beside Merian. He placed a hand on her scratched and bruised face. She couldn't be dead, could she? She just couldn't be.
Author's Note: Here's chapter nine for you all. It's a bit long, but I couldn't help it. I was so into writing in that I didn't notice how much I was writing. I hope you all are enjoying the story. I'll keep writing and working on this story because I'm beginning to love the story and want to writ more. Happy reading and I know you all love reading, so click that little button in the bottom left hand corner and review! I'd really appreciate it! Thanks much!